Michael Knights - Accidental Allies: The US–Syrian Democratic Forces Partnership Against the Islamic State

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For Henry

Contents

Maps

Color Maps

1 . Siege of Kobane, Frontline Progression, October 2014January 2015

2 . Manbij Offensive, May 31August 27, 2016

3 . Raqqa Campaign, November 2016

4 . Operation al-Jazira Storm

Figures

The authors of this primary research on the U.S.-SDF partnership owe their gratitude and thanks to every journalist, fixer, SDF official, coalition military official, diplomat, researcher, foreign volunteer, and others who contributed to the book. Many contributed on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topics covered, but they believed that a fair and comprehensive study on this issue was reward enough.

We especially owe thanks to serving and former U.S. and EU diplomats, military officials from the U.S.-led coalition, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the U.S. State Department for their off-the-record assistance with this study.

Special thanks are due to researcher Selah Mislim, analyst Dr. Nasr Mansour, commander Amed, senior Manbij Military Council commander Mustafa Manbij, SDF official and author of several books Polat Can, SDF media official Siyamend, SDF spokesperson Kino Gabriel, Army of Revolutionaries commander Ahmad Sultan, SDF senior official Cemil Mazlum, Manbij Military Council spokesperson Shervan Darwish, Manbij Military Council head Abu Adel, SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), SDF Press Centre head Mustafa Bali, journalist Sores Xelil, researcher Nawaf Xelil, journalist Ahmet Hemo, journalist Sipan Xelil, Fabrice Balanche, Alex Almeida, Nicholas Heras, researcher Mohammad Ibrahim, former volunteers Jim Matthews and Macer Gifford, and others who cannot be named.

The research was also not possible without the assistance of journalists and fixers working on northeast Syria who played a major role in the outside understanding of the SDF. This includes Azad Evdiki, Barzan Isso, Mohammed Ali, Hoshang Hassan, Heybar Othman, Red-wan Bezar, Hisham Arafat, Kamiran Saadoun, Ekrem Salih, Mutlu Civiroglu, Mohammed Hassan, Perwer Ali, and many others. The research was also aided by the Rojava Information Centre, at the time headed by Thomas McClure, and the Washington Kurdish Institute, which graciously helped not only the authors but also media and other institutes with research.

The study would not have been possible without the help and permissions of the SDF Media Centre, headed by Mustafa Bali, and the help of SDF spokesperson Kino Gabriel. The Kurdistan Regional Government also should be thanked for its permissions to cross the border into northern Syria from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We would additionally like to thank OIR spokesperson Col. Wayne Marotto and former OIR spokesperson Col. Myles Caggins III for their help and for arranging periods of embedding with U.S. forces in northern Syria.

Final thanks are given to Michael Eisenstadt, the head of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute, and the many Institute fellows whose rigorous peer reviewing made this a better study.

Finally, Michael Knights would like to thank Jill and Jay Bernstein, sponsors of his Washington Institute fellowship, along with the Institutes executive director, Robert Satloff, and director of research, Patrick Clawson.

AANES	Autonomous Administration of North East Syria
AK	Avtomat Kalashnikova (Kalashnikovs assault rifle)
ASV	armored security vehicle
ATAK	Android Team Awareness Kit
ATGM	antitank guided missile
CJIATF-S	Combined Joint Interagency Task ForceSyria
CJSOTF	Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force
CJSOTF-S	Combined Joint Special Operations Task ForceSyria
CJTF-OIR	Combined Joint Task ForceOperation Inherent Resolve
CTEF	Counter-ISIS Train and Equip Fund
CTG	Counter-Terrorism Group
DAA	Democratic Autonomous Area
ESSA	East Syria Security Area
FLOT	forward line of own troops
FSA	Free Syrian Army
FST	forward surgical team
FTO	Foreign Terrorist Organization
GLOC	ground lines of communication
HAT	Hezen Anti Teror (Anti-Terrorism Group)
HPC	Hezen Parastina Civaki (Civil Defense Group)
HPX	Self-Defense Forces
IED	improvised explosive device
InSF	Internal Security Forces
IS	Islamic State
ISR	intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
JaT	Jaish al-Thuwar (Army of Revolutionaries)
JOC	Joint Operations Command
JOC-S	Joint Operations CenterSyria

KCK	Group of Communities in Kurdistan
KDP	Kurdistan Democratic Party (Iraq)
KDP-S	Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria
KNC	Kurdish National Council
KRG	Kurdistan Regional Government
KRV	Khabur River Valley
LCF	Lafarge Cement Factory
MC	military council
MERV	Mid-Euphrates River Valley
MICLIC	mine clearing line charge
MMC	Manbij Military Council
MRAP	mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
ODA	Operational Detachment Alpha
OIR	Operation Inherent Resolve
PKK	Kurdistan Workers Party
PKM	Pulemyot Kalashnikova (Kalashnikovs machine gun)
PRISF	Provincial Internal Security Forces
PUK	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
PYD	Partiya Yekitiya Demokrat (Democratic Union Party)
QSD	See SDF
RISF	Raqqa Internal Security Force
RPG	rocket-propelled grenade
SAC	Syrian Arab Coalition
SDF	Syrian Democratic Forces
STEF	Syrian Train and Equip Fund
TEV-DEM	Movement for a Democratic Society
UAV	unmanned aerial vehicle
VSO	vetted Syrian opposition
YAT	Yekineyen Anti Teror (Anti-Terror Unit)
YBS	Yekineyen Berxwedana Sengale (Sinjar Resistance Units)
YDL	Military Discipline Units

YPG	Yekineyen Parastina Gel (Peoples Defense Units)
YPJ	Yekineyen Parastina Jin (Womens Protection Units)
YXG	Yekineyen Xweparastina Gel (Peoples Self-Defense Units)

When the U.S. military fights by, with, and through a partner force, this refers to operations [that] are led by our partners, state or nonstate, with enabling support from the United States or U.S.-led coalitions, and through U.S. authorities and partner agreements.

Much of the discussion of by, with, and through in the U.S. security sector followed the commencement in 2014 of Combined Joint Task ForceOperation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (aka the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, and Daesh, its Arabic acronym). Particular interest has focused on the by, with, and through campaign in northeast Syria, which saw very limited U.S. forcesranging from no in-country presence to a maximum of fifteen hundred U.S. personnelwork with a capable partner force, the Kurdish-led Yekineyen Parastina Gel (YPG, or Peoples Defense Units), and later the more ethnically representative Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). This study, which relies heavily on interviews, looks closely at the U.S.-YPG/SDF relationship, ultimately seeking to generate an accurate image of the good, the bad, the inspiring, and the ugly aspects of this military and stabilization partnership.

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